The Dead Speak
I was on the other side of the mountains, and south of the border when it happened. It was a regular August afternoon; scorching. The only refreshing retreat was the ever flowing Columbia, true to its nature.
From underneath the water, even with eyes sealed, the blinding white flash forced me to squint a little harder, but only for a second. Knowing blue skies were above, I knew lightning was not an option, and there was only silence following the flash.
Reluctant to breach the watery plain, but requiring oxygen to live, I crawl to the surface. The musty silence air coats my head as I rise to evaluate the new world. Either side of the Columbia is ablaze, along with everybody and everything that managed to stay afloat. The boat that delivered me to these deepest depths, along with almost every other boat on the water, was gone. An inner-tube floating near by, with a slightly melted cloth covering is all I know. Trying not to feel the pain, that I know will be there soon enough, I try and pull my self atop safety. Drained, from my new surrounding, I slide back into the comforting water.
Exhaling my very last breath of flash ridden air, the shock wave strikes and I am caught in torrent, water, air, mixture. Water is forced into my lungs, time stops, and I sink to the dark depths; never seeing the surface again. In the end, I drown.
From underneath the water, even with eyes sealed, the blinding white flash forced me to squint a little harder, but only for a second. Knowing blue skies were above, I knew lightning was not an option, and there was only silence following the flash.
Reluctant to breach the watery plain, but requiring oxygen to live, I crawl to the surface. The musty silence air coats my head as I rise to evaluate the new world. Either side of the Columbia is ablaze, along with everybody and everything that managed to stay afloat. The boat that delivered me to these deepest depths, along with almost every other boat on the water, was gone. An inner-tube floating near by, with a slightly melted cloth covering is all I know. Trying not to feel the pain, that I know will be there soon enough, I try and pull my self atop safety. Drained, from my new surrounding, I slide back into the comforting water.
Exhaling my very last breath of flash ridden air, the shock wave strikes and I am caught in torrent, water, air, mixture. Water is forced into my lungs, time stops, and I sink to the dark depths; never seeing the surface again. In the end, I drown.